Event Horizon - fourth in the Heartbreaker series
by ebineez01
Summary: Sequel to Operation Storm in the Desert. Captain Samantha Carter and Colonel Jack O'Neill haven't seen each other for a while, and for her there's a good reason. Two years ago, the only way he would agree to take the mission, was if she wasn't on it.
1. First meeting?

A/N

Sequel to Operation Storm in the Desert.

Captain Samantha Carter and Colonel Jack O'Neill haven't seen each other for a while, and for her there's a good reason. Two years ago, the only way he would agree to take the mission, was if she wasn't on it.

All AU that occurred in the prequels to this are assumed in this story as well, so if you haven't read the others in this series first then this one won't make sense, so it'd be nice if you wanted to read them too :-)

Usual disclaimers for me not owning Stargate or any of its characters.

Hope you enjoy and I hope I can make it worth the wait :-)

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**Cheyenne Mountain. Colorado. 1997.**

"Where's Captain Carter?" General Hammond asked as he entered the briefing room.

"Just arriving Sir," Major Samuels replied.

"Carter?" Jack asked, his stomach dropping to his knees.

"I'm assigning Sam Carter to this mission."

Jack looked calm on the outside, inside he was in turmoil. "I'd prefer to put together my own team Sir," Jack said as he pulled a pen from his inside pocket.

"Not on this mission, sorry. Carter's our expert on the Stargate."

Sam stopped in the corridor outside the briefing room to straighten her dress blues when she heard his voice for the first time in over two years. In person anyway. She was nervous as hell about seeing him again...didn't really want to see him again after what he'd done to her, but if being on his team was the only way she could go through the Stargate then she'd suck it up and get on with it.

Jack knew he could derail her involvement easily, just by telling General Hammond that they'd been involved and he didn't think he would be able to keep his job as her commanding officer separate from his personal feelings. But he couldn't do that to her, couldn't risk the damage it could cause her career or her reputation, though they'd done nothing wrong at the time. He thought his only other option was to play dumb and pretend he didn't know her.

"Where's he transferring from?"

She cocked her head at his words. _Well if that's the way he wants to play it._

_"She_ is transferring from the pentagon."

Jack looked up to see her silhouetted in the doorway and after a momentary lapse brought his features under control. He couldn't take his eyes from her as she confidently strode towards him. _God she looks good..._

"I take it you're Colonel O'Neill," she said, hastily raising her hand in a salute that was clearly an afterthought. "Captain Samantha Carter reporting Sir!"

Major Charlie Kawalsky didn't know why Jack wanted to make out he didn't know Sam Carter, but he would follow his lead. "But of course you go by Sam?" he asked with a smirk.

Sam turned to him not surprised he would come down on Jacks side in this. He would follow Jack into hell, had followed Cromwell into hell to get Jack O'Neill back. "You don't have to worry Major, I played with dolls when I was a kid..."

Hammond allowed some banter and then pulled the briefing back into line, however briefly. The Colonel made a snide comment about scientists and George Hammond had to put him in his place.

"Colonel, I was studying the gate technology two years before Daniel Jackson made it work, and before you both went through." She fixed him with a stare. "I should have gone through then," she said pointedly. "Sir, you and your _men_ might as well accept the fact that I am going through this time."

When Jack made a point of addressing her as Doctor instead of Captain she snapped, giving him back just as good as she got.

"Captain Carters assignment to this unit is not an option, it's an order."

"I'm an Air Force Officer just like you are Colonel. And just because my reproductive organs are on the inside instead of the outside, doesn't mean I can't handle whatever you can handle."

Jack stared at her before giving her a faint smile. "Oh this has nothing to do with you being a woman," he said as he sat down. He made sure he looked her in the eye before he continued. "I like women." He paused for a moment as he continued to stare at her. "I've just got a little problem with scientists."

"Colonel, I logged over a hundred hours in enemy airspace during the gulf war," something she knew he was well aware of. "Is that tough enough for you?" They stared at each other for a moment before she continued. "Or are we going to have to arm wrestle."

Jack was aware all eyes were on them and he was struggling to keep his composure, not just with her presence but her words. He gave a little flick of his head letting her know he understood exactly where she was going with this.

Sam looked down and smiled to herself. She'd done exactly want she'd wanted to do. She'd seen him again and not let him intimidate her into silence or submission if, when, he tried to get her taken off his team once again.

Then the business of the briefing interrupted them.

They were given the go ahead and Jack couldn't help but find his eyes back on her and despite her anger with him still being evident, her eyes twinkled with the promise of finally getting to go through the gate.

After the briefing he caught up with her in the corridor. "Carter," he called.

She stopped and turned to face him, only because it would have been insubordination not to.

He stopped in front of her glancing around to be sure they wouldn't be overheard. "We need to talk."

She shook her head slightly. "I don't know what about Colonel," she replied. "I think the General covered everything in the briefing."

He sighed as he gave her an exasperated look. "You know what about."

"I think I know all I need to on that subject Sir," she replied, the epitome of correct subordinate behaviour.

He grabbed her arm as she turned to leave. "No, you don't," he argued.

She looked at his hand until he dropped it. "You're forgetting I have the highest security clearance Sir," she reminded him. "None of your report was redacted when I read it."

"The report wasn't, no," he agreed.

She frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

He stuck his hands in his pockets and glanced at the grey concrete wall behind her for a moment before he looked back to her. "None of the report was redacted," he repeated. "But the mission parameters were."

"I don't understand," she said.

He glanced around again and leaned in towards her. "We can't talk about this here, that part of the mission is still classified."

"But I have the highest clearance."

He shook his head. "I mean it's eyes only," he admitted. "Only myself, General West and the Joint Chiefs knew what was going on."

Her eyes dropped to the ground. Why hadn't he told her this before? _Because you wouldn't speak to him after you got tossed from the mission list._ She looked back to him. She didn't know if what he had to say would have changed anything two years ago, whether it would change anything now. But she had to know.

"Where?" she asked.

He smiled faintly as he gave her his address.

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A/N

Well I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Obviously I used a lot of the dialogue from the actual scene, and also cut a lot out. I didn't want to write out the whole scene, just the bits that I needed to tell the story :-)

I'd love to know what you thought :-) and I hope you enjoy this one as much as you've enjoyed the others so far


	2. Revelations

A/N

thanks for all the reviews and follows for this already guys, I really appreciate that you've all picked up on this and that you're all looking forward to the next one in the series.

I know I've made you wait awhile while I've been 'sowing my oats' on other stories, so I hope you'll all be glad that I'm venturing back into Sam/Jack territory ;-)

and warning for language.

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Jack answered his door and Carter walked past him without a word. She followed him to the kitchen and he turned to face her. "Thanks for coming. Can I get you something to drink?" he asked.

She leaned against his counter. "Why did you get me taken off the first Abydos mission?" They were the words she'd wanted to say out loud for two years, but once she'd found out he had been the reason she didn't go through the Stargate she couldn't bring herself to even look at him, let alone talk to him.

He let out a breath. "No small talk huh?"

She raised her hands. "Fine..."

"Whoa, where are you going?" Jack asked as she stalked off towards his front door.

"I came here for one reason and one reason only Colonel," she reminded him.

He nodded. "Yeah okay," he replied. "At least please come in and sit down." When she didn't move he continued. "I'm about to break some serious rules here Carter, the least you can do is let me be comfortable while I do it!" He walked away from her settling himself in his big chair.

She huffed a sigh, finally following him into the living room and taking a seat on his couch. "Comfortable?"

Jack inclined his head. "Yes thank you." Then he turned serious.

"Look Carter," he started. "I know you had your heart set on going through that gate..."

"It was my life Jack," she replied. "For two years before you even heard of it...you know what I was like during that time..."

He nodded remembering he barely saw her for two years. Whatever the classified project was that she was working on, she couldn't tell him about it, and it seemed to have caught her attention like not even he ever had. Then they'd brought him on board, asking him to take mission lead.

No one knew about them, including her father, so right away there would have been a conflict. But he wasn't going to bring it up, he never saw it as a problem. Once he got clearance and she could talk to him about it his mind was made up, he was going to take the mission, overjoyed that he would be the one to lead her through her precious Stargate. But then they'd given him _all_ the mission details.

_Lead your team through the Stargate Colonel. Assess the risk. And if you need to, set off the tactical nuke we're sending through with you and blow the fucking thing up! Oh, and by the way, you'll have to stay behind to detonate it..._

Well after that little tidbit there was no way she was going on that mission. Whether the suicide part was only ever going to mean his life, he would not take the chance that something could go wrong and she wouldn't make it back. And once he found out what was going on, not taking the mission wasn't an option either because then it would be beyond his control what happened to her.

So he used the excuse that Jackson had to come to decipher the text on the other side and that he wouldn't be able to ensure the safety of two scientists on the mission. No matter that she was an Air Force Captain, because she wasn't vetted for this kind of op.

"Jack?" she questioned.

He looked at her. "It was a suicide mission," he said point blank.

"What? That makes no sense...everyone that didn't get killed by Ra's soldiers came home."

"Only by pure luck," he replied. "We took through a tactical nuke with us, and I was instructed to detonate it and blow up the Abydos gate if it was deemed the risk was too great."

"But you did blow up Ra..."

"And we were lucky his ship was in space when we did it, and lucky as hell we found out how to use those ring thingies. We didn't know any of that before we went through, we were flying blind and the chance I was going to have to set that thing off was too great."

"So you set it, go back through the gate..."

He shook his head. "I was going to have to stay behind and make sure the thing succeeded in destroying the gate. We couldn't take the chance that it would be disarmed. There was too great a risk none of us would make it back...and I knew if it came to it you wouldn't have left me there to die alone."

And of course he was right. She would never have left him. But she would never have let it get to that, she would have thought of something...her anger returned. "So you got me kicked off the team?"

He nodded. "It was the only way I could guarantee you'd be safe."

She looked at her hands.

"Please say something."

"It wasn't your decision to make Jack," she looked up at him. "You should have told me, should have let me make up my own mind."

"I couldn't!" He argued. "It would have been treason to tell you, the same way you couldn't tell me about the gate for those first two years," he said, pleading with her to understand. He sighed. "Technically it's still treason now..."

She looked at him. "Then why are you telling me now?"

"Because I've lived without you for two years," he replied. "And keeping their secret isn't worth not having you."

She snorted. "And you're assuming this makes it all better?"

He swallowed realising that he hadn't really considered that she wouldn't forgive him once she found out his reasons.

"I did it for you," he mumbled.

"How could you have thought back then that I would forgive you?"

He sighed. "You know, once you've been in black-ops a while you get a feeling for a mission," he murmured absently. Then he looked her in the eye. "I honesty didn't think I was coming home from this one and I needed to know you were safe." He went quiet for a moment. "And if by some chance I did make it back then I thought I'd be able to explain everything like I am now, and you might have forgiven me."

"And if I didn't?"

He shrugged. "Then that would have been...that _is_ your decision," he replied. "But at the time I was willing to take the chance."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes considering his words. Over the last couple of years she'd made several attempts at understanding what his motives could have been for keeping her from going through the gate and now she knew. It certainly wasn't one she had thought of. Well, she had thought there was the possibility that he was worried she couldn't take care of herself and it hurt her to think he would think that. But, she had to admit that your hand to hand skills couldn't save you from a nuke blowing up in your face no matter how good they were.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. "I understand why you did what you did..." He smiled and she continued. "It still doesn't mean I agree with it." And she watched his face fall.

"So we're not okay?" he asked.

The tone of his voice sent a spike through her and God help her if she wasn't still in love with him. Right now she still couldn't bring herself to completely forgive him, but for the sake of _this_ mission, she had to at least try.

"Not yet," she replied truthfully. "But...well, maybe we will be." His face lit up, his eyes full of hope and she had the sudden urge to go to him, to hold him, kiss him, love him. But she knew she wasn't ready for that yet so she gripped the arm of the couch and kept her seat.

"I should go," she said finally.

He got up and followed her to the door, wanting desperately to touch her, pull her to him, hold her, but he didn't dare. Not yet. And any direct chain of command issues they were going to face when he did? Well they weren't even on the radar right now.

"Well I guess I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning Captain," he said as she opened the door.

She turned back to him and gave him a faint smile. "Yes sir!" she replied before she turned and walked to her sporty little Volvo.

He watched her all the way up the street before he closed his front door. As he walked back to his kitchen he thought about that small smile she had given him and hoped it was because she was thinking about the prospect of seeing him again. He snorted. "Who am I kidding?" he mumbled aloud. _I'm not the love of her life anymore,_ he thought picturing the big shimmering puddle of the event horizon.

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A/N

so there it is. Jacks reasons for having her taken off the first Abydos mission. I'd like to know everyone's thoughts on it. Was he justified or do we think Sam is right to be pissed?

oh and I'd like to know what you thought of the rest of the chapter as well of course :-) though I guess that _was_ pretty much the chapter :-)


	3. First day of school

A/N

No I haven't given up on this story. I'm really sorry that it's taken so long to update. I had the first little part written for quite a while and then I kind of got sidetracked by life - and Jon :-)

Thanks so much for all the reviews for the first two chapters and all the follows and favs - hopefully I haven't lost too many people's interest while I've been procrastinating.

I hope you enjoy and I've put in a '_previously_' for a reminder of where we were at.

Thanks for the beta read by TamaraJagellovsk :-)

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_Previously..._

_'She opened her eyes and looked at him. "I understand why you did what you did..." He smiled and she continued. "It still doesn't mean I agree with it." And she watched his face fall._

_"So we're not okay?" he asked._

_The tone of his voice sent a spike through her and God help her if she wasn't still in love with him. But right now she still couldn't bring herself to completely forgive him. But for the sake of this mission, she had to at least try._

_"Not yet," she replied truthfully. "But...well, maybe we will be." His face lit up, his eyes full of hope and she had the sudden urge to go to him, to hold him, kiss him, love him. But she knew she wasn't ready for that yet so she gripped the arm of the couch and kept her seat._

_"I should go," she said finally._

_He got up and followed her to the door, wanting desperately to touch her, pull her to him, hold her, but he didn't dare. Not yet. And any direct chain of command issues they were going to face when he did? Well they weren't even on the radar right now._

_"Well I guess I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning Captain," he said as she opened the door._

_She turned back to him and gave him a faint smile. "Yes sir!" she replied before she turned and walked to her sporty little Volvo._

_He watched her all the way up the street before he closed his front door. As he walked back to his kitchen he thought about that small smile she had given him and hoped it was because she was thinking about the prospect of seeing him again. He snorted. "Who am I kidding?" he mumbled aloud. I'm not the love of her life anymore, he thought picturing the big shimmering puddle of the event horizon.'_

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The next morning they entered the gate room in their desert BDU's, then they got the go ahead from Hammond and Jack gave the order to move out. He glanced sideways at her and couldn't help but smirk at how cute she looked all kitted out in her desert gear, the pack looking huge strapped to her back. He successfully fought the urge to check her weapons and go through her pack like he was sending her off on her first day of school..._just_. But he _did_ stay next to her.

"Captain?" he asked when she hadn't moved.

"Oh, don't worry Colonel, I won't let you down," she replied looking at him.

He stared at her a moment, "Good. I was going to say ladies first," he said as he moved to walk up the ramp.

"You know you really will like me when you get to know me," she said as she followed behind him.

He turned towards her slightly not knowing what had possessed her to say it, perhaps it was for the benefit of anyone she thought may be listening. He didn't try to mask his own feelings when he answered her all too truthfully. "Oh, I adore you already Captain."

She hung back and stared at the shimmering vertical pool of light, mesmerised by not only the wonder but the science of it.

He remembered a time she used to look at him like that and wondered briefly if it was at all normal to be jealous of a wormhole. Then he gave her a look as she began to expound on the wonders of the..._fluctuations of the event horizon?_

Jack really wanted to take her hand and make that first journey through with her, but he decided that it probably wouldn't be classed as standard commanding officer-subordinate behaviour, so he settled for placing his hand on her back, pausing briefly, savouring the first contact they'd had in over two years, before he pushed her through. He came out the other side half frozen just like he remembered, to see her sitting bent forward on the steps.

"Oh I think I'm gonna be sick," she said.

He walked over to her. "Maybe you shouldn't have had that big lunch huh?" he asked as he patted her arm on the way past. _Up to second contact already,_ he thought. Things were looking up.

Then all of a sudden there were a lot of guns pointed at them. Jack was just starting to get concerned that someone may get hurt when Daniel showed up seemingly out of nowhere to calm the young gate guards.

When the guns were lowered and Jack could breath again he realised he'd somehow ended up right next to Carter without even realising he'd moved. Deciding to push that away for analysis at a more fitting time he turned to look past the archaeologist. He knew Danny would be a little pissed that he'd acknowledged Skaara first...but hey...he'd missed the kid.

Before he'd even really had a chance to say a proper hello to Daniel his attention was drawn by Carter...and her somewhat loud declaration of adoration for the device they used to dial home. He managed to suppress the smile that threatened. He hated scientists...so it really wouldn't look good to be mooning all over one as she geeked out over a piece of alien tech. No matter how cool the alien tech. _Or how hot the scientist..._

It took him a couple of tries but he finally got her attention away from the device long enough to indicate that there was someone she really should meet.

"Doctor Jackson I presume," she said with a killer smile. "I'm Doctor Samantha Carter."

Jack looked at her. _Is she kidding here...or is she trying to piss me off!?_

"I thought you wanted to be called Captain," he reminded her and she sent him a look that would have earned any other Captain under his command a swift reprimand accompanied by a swift kick in the ass. Another thing he'd have to store away to be analysed at a later date as Daniel claimed his attention once again.

Jack told him what happened at the SGC and to his surprise Daniel was adamant that the hostiles could not have come through the Abydos gate. Jack was skeptical to say the least, but could really think of no reason the younger man would have to lie to him about it. When Kawalsky said that one of them looked like Ra, Daniel seemed to have a thought and announced that he thought he could help them figure out _who it was?!_ As keen as Jack was to find out what was going on he could tell, even from inside, that there was one hell of a storm brewing outside, so he didn't argue when Daniel suggested they partake in their evening meal until the storm had passed.

They sat around a fire, bodies filling the room almost to capacity as food was shared around. Jack tried not to pay particular attention to the fact that out of the many people in the room, Carter ended up sitting right next to him. Very _close_ to him. He _tried_ not to pay attention, but it sure as hell had to mean something. Right? And then Skaara brought the drink. If you could call the strongest moonshine Jack had ever tasted 'drink'.

He exaggerated his reaction to the liquid and when he turned to pass the cup to her..._God it feels good to be able to make her laugh again..._

And then a few minutes later Daniel dropped his little bomb.

"So this man that looked like Ra, he must have come through another gate," he said oh so nonchalantly.

_Annnnddd didn't **that** get Carters attention,_ Jack thought as he expressed his own disbelief at Daniels statement.

"The Stargate only goes here," she said.

Daniel smiled. "I think you're wrong about that."

"I was there, we ran hundreds of permutations," she argued.

"But you didn't have what you need..."

Jacks eyes flicked from Daniel to Sha're and he didn't miss the woman's unease at hearing her husband talk in such a way, but he wasn't here to worry about Daniels wife's feelings. "Daniel what are you talking about?"

When Skaara reappeared to tell him the storm had passed, Daniel stood. "I'll show you."

Jack watched as he told Sha're what was happening. Then he frowned slightly at the woman's seemingly _way_ over the top reaction to being told they were effectively going next door. Right before he stood Jack glanced back at Carter, and taking into account the conversation she and Daniel had been having, Jack realised that maybe the woman was simply staking her claim on her man, thinking that Carter was some kind of threat. Sha're was certainly beautiful, but looking at Carter, he could understand any insecurity she may have had.

Daniel led them to another room and showed them...well Jack wasn't really sure what it was he was looking at. He rolled his eyes slightly as Carter started to geek out and was thankful that Daniel didn't follow. Well not right away. He listened as Daniel explained his theory on what the symbols on the walls meant, then he listened as Carter argued against it. Both arguments seemed to have merit to him, but if Carter said they'd tried a crap load of symbols and no other combinations worked...

And then...he listened as the archaeologist suggested to the astrophysicist that stellar drift may be the cause of the gate addresses not working..._and wow! Ouch that had to hurt._ Jack smiled though as, to her credit, she completely skipped over that fact and took on board everything Daniel had to say. And then he was astounded as, in what seemed like seconds, between them they had postulated not only a theory about where the Ra look-a-like could have come from, and why other gate addresses weren't working, but how to actually compensate for _why_ they weren't working. They'd just opened up a whole galaxy. A galaxy of possible wonders, and possible threats. Jack shook his head in wonder at his two scientists. He'd always thought they'd get along...and he was suddenly _very_ glad that Daniel had a wife!

The probability of that threat became so much more apparent when they arrived back in the Stargate chamber to death and destruction, Ferretti badly wounded. And Sha're and Skaara taken. He would brook no argument from Daniel now. There was no time to waste. The threat was real, and it was here. He felt sorry for Daniel that his wife was taken, he really really did. But God help him if he wasn't relieved that Carter had been with him. That it was Sha're that was taken and not Sam.

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A/N

I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I promise it won't take me as long to update as it did last time :-)

As always - lemme know what you think :-)


	4. So we're okay?

A/N

Thanks for everyone who's picked up this story again after a little break in updating. Thanks for reading and for the reviews for the last chapter :-)

Up til now I've basically followed the storyline of Children of the Gods(CotG) writing Jack and Sam 'in between the lines' as it were. But from here I'll be playing around a little bit with how things went in the episode to better suit the story.

Warning for adult situations and swearing

thanks to TamaraJagellovsk for the beta :-)

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They got back through the gate and Jack didn't need to be psychic to know that the General was less than impressed with how the mission had gone. He knew Carter would be busy trying to get her computer to work the gate properly, and he wanted to give her time, and space and wait for her to come to him. He got cleaned up and changed and went by the infirmary on his way off base to check on Ferretti. He knew it should be his job to sit by the Majors bed while he was in such critical condition, but he also knew that Kawalsky wouldn't leave his bedside until he woke. Ferretti was taken care of, and he had another member of his team that needed him more.

He walked a few corridors until he 'accidentally' bumped into Daniel looking as forlorn as he knew he would be. It didn't take much persuading to have the archaeologist accompany him home.

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Sam sighed as she leant on the bench in the area they'd assigned to be her new lab. She knew she should be working on the program to adjust the gate coordinates for the stellar drift that would have occurred over the last fifty thousand years..._and yeah way to go Carter! Some astrophysicist you are that it took an archaeologist to point out that little fact..._

She sighed again not able to concentrate on what she should be doing. All she could think about was the reality of the threat that was out there and that maybe, just maybe now she really could see why Jack had thought the way he did about the first mission. She'd read the reports, but now she'd experienced it for herself...and despite everything that had happened over the last few hours she couldn't help the small smile at the thought that she had finally travelled through the gate to another planet.

Then she thought back to the meal they had been sharing with Doctor Jackson and the Abydonians before the attack. Jack had made her smile, he'd made her laugh just like he used to, and if she had been in any doubt as to her feelings...well, she knew for sure now that she was still in love with him as much as she had ever been.

And that brought a new predicament...what did she do now? He was her commanding officer, and she knew what that meant. She'd known about frat regs long before she'd ever had dog tags hanging around her neck.

After a moment she stood, deciding to go see Ferretti in the infirmary...and then? Then she'd go find Jack.

"Hey Sam," Charlie Kawalsky greeted quietly as he stood from the chair beside Lou's bed.

"Major," Sam replied, still not really sure how to take him at the moment.

He guided her out into the corridor so they wouldn't disturb Lou. "You can still call me Charlie," he whispered.

She glanced away for a moment before looking back to him. "I wasn't really sure where we stood."

"Well neither was I," he admitted. "I still don't know why you and Jack are playing the 'we don't know each other' game, so I just played along."

Sam nodded not able to blame him for that. "How is he?" she asked nodding back towards the bed where Ferretti was still unconscious.

"The doc says he'll be okay," Charlie assured her. "Just have to wait for him to wake up on his own."

"Good to hear," she replied. "Have you seen the Colonel?"

Charlie hoped that Sam's question meant they were at least going to talk. This pretence of theirs was starting to give him a headache. "He was in his civvies when he stopped by a couple hours ago. I think he was going home."

Sam nodded not able to deny the fact that she was a little stung that he hadn't come to see her before he left. "Thanks Charlie," she said with a slight smile.

Charlie gave her a nod and a quick pat on the shoulder before he turned and went back to his friend.

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The next morning Sam pulled Jack aside as they were heading into the briefing room. "Can I speak to you for a moment Colonel?"

"What is it Captain?" he asked as he stopped next to her.

"I came to see you last night," she admitted quietly.

Jack looked around and pulled her into an adjoining corridor. "Why didn't you come in?"

"I did, but I could see you had company."

He smiled slightly. _She came to see me._ "Daniel wouldn't have minded."

"Maybe not, but...well...there are some...things...we need to talk about..."

He nodded his understanding, and as serious as their situation was right now he couldn't stop the joy that was building in him. Then it faltered slightly as he considered the possibility she wanted to tell him to leave her the hell alone. "I can make sure I'm home alone tonight," he offered trying to push his sense of foreboding away.

She nodded. "Okay, I'll come by tonight."

And the smile she gave him as she turned to walk back towards the briefing room made that hope start to build again.

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When they were all gathered in the briefing room Daniel came up with the idea that Ra wasn't the only one of his kind that had taken the identity of ancient Earth Gods. As expected the General asked Jacks opinion on whether he could beat these 'gods'. And then Jack swelled with a pride that he had to keep to himself as a two star General deferred to the youngest and lowest ranked officer in the room, Captain Samantha Carter, as to whether the Stargate would perform as needed.

_All those years ago when that little blonde haired, blue eyed thing stared up at me, I knew she was destined for so much...but I could never have imagined just how much..._

To their surprise, as injured as he was at the time Lou Ferretti managed to remember the co-ordinates to the world the hostiles had gone to and Carter was confident that with her little tweaks to the programming, the dialling computer was now up to the task.

Jack smiled at Hammond as he gave them a go to try the co-ordinates at 0700 the next morning.

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It was hard for Jack not to offer his house to Daniel again that night, but he couldn't go through the gate again, hell he couldn't go to sleep again without knowing what Carter wanted to say to him.

He paced across his living room waiting for her to turn up, and even though he was expecting her he still jumped a little at the sound of her knock.

"Jesus, calm the fuck down Jack!" he reprimanded himself as he moved towards the door.

Sam fidgeted as she waited for him to answer. She looked over her shoulder wondering if it was too late to make a run for it. _If I cut and run now, maybe he'd just think it was some kids playing a prank?_ She'd barely finished that thought when she heard the door open behind her.

Jack thought he was prepared to face her tonight, but when she turned to look at him with those eyes...those eyes that had always brought him undone, his voice left him. He cleared his throat and smiled. "Hi." _Eloquent O'Neill!_

She gave him a shy smile in return and swallowed at the look in his eyes.

"Ah, shit! Sorry, come in," he said after he realised they'd been staring at each other for nearly a full minute.

"Thanks," she answered softly as she moved past him.

"Drink?" he asked, stopping at the entrance to the kitchen. Seeing her in that top she was wearing all he could think about was ripping it off of her, and he didn't think that was what she had come here to do, so maybe tearing the label of a beer bottle into tiny little pieces would give him something to occupy his hands...other than ripping that sweater off of her...

"Yeah, please," she replied, not really thirsty, but thinking it would give her something to do with her hands. She couldn't help but stare at his ass as he bent to take a couple of beers out of the fridge and suddenly she knew exactly what she wanted to be doing with her hands. _God how can I be thinking like that when we've barely spoken in two years?_ As he straightened up and turned back towards her the foremost thing in her mind wasn't what had happened on Abydos, or what had happened between them two years ago...it was whether he was thinking the same.

_Ah crap,_ he thought as he turned back to face her, any cooling effect gained by having half his body stuck in the icy fridge evaporated in seconds when he saw the look in her eyes.

As his eyes landed on hers, Sam could tell he was thinking the same thing she was. She could feel her heart rate rise as he moved towards her and she had to remind herself that this wasn't why she'd come here.

"This isn't why I came here," she said out loud when he stopped very close, holding out the beer bottle for her to take. "I know," he replied in that voice that made her shiver.

When she just stared at the bottle, making no move to take it, Jack set them both on the counter and turned back to her, his hand coming up to cup her cheek. She'd said she hadn't come here for this, and neither had he expected it, but as he felt her move into his touch he thought that maybe their brains ultimately had no say in it. Her hand came up to cover his and he stroked his thumb across the soft skin of her cheek.

"Do you have any idea how much I've missed you?" he whispered as he moved closer to her, his lips grazing the skin at her temple. He felt her other hand on his chest and his eyes slipped closed as he felt her lips on the side of his neck.

"Not as much as I've missed you," she murmured against his skin. She felt his lips, soft, tentative on the corner of her eyelid, his breath hot on her cheek, a moment later his mouth moved to hover millimetres from her own. She opened her eyes just in time to see his tongue trail across his bottom lip and she sighed, her fingers digging into his chest as she closed that last little bit of empty space that remained.

Her kiss made him burn, and as her tongue forced its way past his lips he groaned into her mouth. His hand slid back into her hair, his other coming up to grip her hip pulling her hard against his growing desire. Her arms came up around his neck, her blunt nails grazing the back of his scalp. He vaguely registered the sound of the beer bottles smashing on his tiled kitchen floor as he pushed her back against the island bench. "Jesus Carter," he breathed as she leant her weight on the bench bringing her legs up to circle his hips.

She tightened her grip on him pulling him hard against her and she couldn't help the slow circling movement of her hips. She missed him, she missed this and she wanted nothing more than to feel him inside of her right now. As she pulled his mouth back to hers she dropped one hand, her nimble fingers making quick work of the buttons of his shirt, then her hands were on the smooth bare skin of his stomach, travelling slowly around his waist and up over his chest. Her finger tips brushed against his dog tags where they lay against his skin and she stopped.

Jack was on fire, every touch, every breath setting him alight. He felt her fingers curl around his tags and then he felt the slight push against his chest. He pulled back slightly as her grip on his hips loosened. "Carter?" Her eyes came up to his and he saw the need, the want...and the indecision...

"Sir..."

He closed his eyes briefly. He understood...damn it! He understood...

"Colonel...we can't...you're my commanding officer..."

He released a breath as he stepped away form her scrubbing his hands across his face. He pulled himself up to sit next to her on the bench, their thighs touching. He turned to face her. "You wanted to talk?"

She looked at the floor and nodded slowly. "You think you know what it's like," she murmured. "But you don't."

He frowned at her words, but he didn't interrupt.

"You know I did my time in the Gulf, you know what I did...what I saw..." He nodded and she continued. "The Stargate, it was never about that for me, even after reading your reports...the Stargate wasn't a threat to me, it was science and wonder and..."

"And?" he asked softly.

"And now it's another war..."

Jack sighed and put his arm around her shoulders pulling her against his side. "It is war Sam...and it is science and wonder. Don't let what's happened destroy that for you. I'm sorry I took that away from you the first time."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. After seeing...Jenkins and those Abydos boys dead, Ferretti so badly wounded and Doctor Jacksons wife and her brother stolen. Well, I understand one hell of a lot better now." She looked him in the eye. "I still can't say whether I would have agreed with your decision back then, but I do understand it, and I understand what you were trying to do. And I'm sorry that I never gave you the chance to explain it."

"So we're good?" he asked barely daring to hope.

She smiled. "We're good." Her eyes flicked briefly to his lips then back up. "And if you still want..."

He nodded as he leant towards her. "I want," he murmured just as his lips touched hers. He felt her smile as she gently pushed him back.

"And you're still my CO..."

"Temporarily," he argued. "A few days, maybe a week tops."

"Then it won't kill us to wait will it?"

He breathed out a sigh. "Speak for yourself Carter!"

She chuckled as she dropped down to the floor moving to stand between his legs, her hands coming to rest on his thighs.

"Seriously?" he groaned as her hands travelled upwards.

"Sorry Sir," she said with a smirk.

He rolled his eyes. "Go home Captain before I forget my place as your commanding officer and I completely screw the frat regs by taking you to bed."

It was her turn to let out a frustrated groan at his words. "Yes Sir," she replied as she turned towards his front door.

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A/N

Hope you enjoyed the chapter :-)


	5. Will it be enough?

A/N

thanks as always to everyone that has read and reviewed the last chapter :-) sorry this one has been a few weeks in coming but here it is.

and as sometimes happens this has kind of snuck up on me, but I realised when I finished writing this chapter, that this is where I want to leave it. So yes, this is the final chapter of this story - and as it happens the Sam/Jack 'Heartbreaker' AU. Sorry for the lack of warning on that one :-) I hope you enjoy it.

warning for language. And a reminder that the timelines of events, and the dialogue for Children of the Gods is not exact in this. thanks to TamaraJagellovsk for the beta read :-)

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Sam sat in the infirmary feeling more than a little shell shocked. They'd gone through the gate to Chulak. Had been captured. Found Skaara. Discovered why the Goa'uld had abducted Share. Lost Skaara. Turned the Goa'uld's first prime against his God...and escaped back through the gate to earth...with a hundred refugees and Apophis' first prime in tow. She snorted. "One hell of a day," she mumbled to herself.

"What was that Carter?" Jack asked from the bed next to hers.

She looked up at him and shook her head slightly. "Nothing Sir," she answered quietly. And _Jack_...Jack had been...well, nothing short of magnificent really. You could say he'd saved them all single handedly. Admittedly it did take Teal'c, the big Jaffa to turn on his comrades, but he'd said himself that he'd only done it because he believed Jack could help save the people in the dungeon from being slaughtered.

But, now it was over. She was sad for Daniel, but she couldn't see that they'd keep the Stargate running just to get his wife back. She thought it would be a huge mistake to shut it down again and would tell them as much if she had the chance, but she didn't think it would make much of a difference.

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"...and the President happens to agree with you," General Hammond said to them in their post mission briefing.

Her head snapped to Jack, his to the General. "He does?"

"There will be nine SG teams, designations SG-1 through 9," the General stated. "Colonel, you will head up SG-1 along with Captain Carter. Major Kawalsky will take command of SG-2..."

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They hadn't had time to talk privately before she'd left the SGC, and now she sat on her couch, beer in hand trying to decide whether to go over to his place or not. She'd been through the gate now, she'd tasted what was like out there and she couldn't give that up. And she also now knew what it was like to work alongside Jack...and she couldn't give that up either. Not that it mattered whether she was on his SG team or another she realised, since he was Hammonds 2IC she'd be in his direct chain of command no matter which team she was on. And so her dilemma. She'd never thought she'd ever knowingly break an Air Force regulation...until now...

Jack sat in his truck outside her house, his thumb picking at the stitching on the bottom of his steering wheel, wondering what the hell they were supposed to do now. They both knew the ramifications of Hammonds words. If they wanted to have a relationship and stay inside the frat regs, one of them would have to transfer out of the SGC, or he'd have to retire. And he couldn't even fathom giving up active duty and retiring now, not that they'd let him anyway. And he knew there was pretty much no chance that either of them would be allowed to transfer out of the SGC either. And if he were completely honest, he didn't want them to. He loved going through the gate, and he especially loved going through the gate with her.

So that left two options. They had no relationship outside the professional, and _that_ eventuation physically hurt him to even think about. Or...well, the consequences of the other option if anyone ever found out...

He got out the truck and jogged up her path, knocking on the door.

Even though Sam had half been expecting him, she jumped when the loud knock sounded. She placed her near full beer bottle on the coffee table and moved to open her door.

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Jacks thumb now picked at the label on his beer bottle as he sat in her living room.

"So," Sam began. "Where do we go from here?"

He shrugged as he took another sip of his beer. "There are quite a few options," he replied. "But I can only really see two that are feasible."

She nodded thoughtfully. "Agreed."

He looked at her, a wry smile coming this lips. "Shall we see if we came up with the same two?"

"Okay," she agreed, looking him in the eye and he motioned for her to continue. "The first is, we don't go back to being the way we were...before..."

"And how do you feel about that?" he asked quietly.

"Up until a few days ago, I would have been more than fine with it..."

"And now?"

"And now...now I feel sick about it," she admitted. "So the second option is...and I can't even believe I'm about to suggest this as a...as _the_ viable option...is we both stay at the SGC as members of SG-1...and just be really _really_ careful."

"And you don't have a problem with that?"

She pushed herself up from the arm chair and started to pace her small living room. "Of course I have a problem with it Jack...but now that I've..." she struggled for the right word. "Now that I've _found_ you again, I have a bigger problem not being with you..."

"You know that rule is there for a very good reason," he pointed out, wanting to be sure she'd thought this through.

"Yeah I know," she answered. "But what is the _real_ purpose of the frat reg?"

Jack shrugged as if it should be obvious to her. "People in the same direct chain of command can't have a personal relationship because there's the possibility it would affect any decisions made."

"Right," she agreed as she came to sit next to him on the couch. "But can you honestly say, whether we started back up or not, that your judgement when it came to me, or mine when it came to you for that matter, wouldn't be influenced by our past, by everything we've already been through?"

He thought about that for a moment and realised she was right. The only way to actually do this by the book would be for one of them to transfer out completely. And that just wasn't an option he was willing to entertain, and by the sound of it, neither was she. He shook his head slowly. "No," he admitted as he reached a hand out to her cheek. He looked into her eyes, letting her see that nothing had changed for him, he still loved her as much as he ever had.

Sam smiled slightly, her hand coming to rest over his before she shifted forward bringing her lips into contact with his. "I still love you Jack," she told him. "Have never stopped loving you." She swallowed before she continued. "I want you back in my life...and my bed..."

That was all he needed as he surged forward claiming her lips with his, his tongue claiming her mouth. She wanted him, and regs be damned, they were doing this.

She brought a hand up to tangle in his short hair as she pulled him to her, her tongue pushing back against his own. She pushed him back into the couch and climbed onto his lap, straddling him.

Jack groaned as she settled herself above him and felt her take advantage, her tongue forcing its way past his all too willing lips. Her fingers tightened in his hair, the nails of her other hand digging into the skin of his shoulder. He slid his hands up her thighs, gripping her ass, knowing there would probably be bruises there tomorrow. He tore his lips from hers, turning his head into her shoulder as she ground against his hardness. "Fuck!" he growled against the skin of her neck. Then he was left slightly bewildered as she started to move off of him. That only lasted seconds as she reached out and wrapped her fist in the fabric of his shirt pulling him from her couch down to the thick rug that covered her hardwood floor.

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Jack reached up and grabbed the old throw rug that sat neatly along the back of her couch, pulling it down over them.

"What?" Sam asked, his gaze on her as his fingers played along the back of her arm.

"You were amazing," he said softly.

She craned her neck up to kiss him on the mouth. "So were you..."

He chuckled at that. "Well thank you...and you were amazing tonight too...but I actually meant that you were amazing on Chulak."

She turned to better look at him. "Me?" she asked incredulous. "Jack, you were the one who saved us, saved all those people pretty much on your own."

He gave her a look. "I think I had a bit of help with that Carter, including from you."

"Yeah you did, eventually...but it was all you who convinced Teal'c to help us...'_Many have said that...but you are the first I truly believe could do it...' _," she quoted.

He rolled his eyes and gave her a nudge. "Shut up!"

"I'm not making fun," she replied, finding she had to fight hard not to add Sir or Colonel this time. "Jack, if he didn't believe in you, we'd all be dead right now..."

"And how did this turn around onto me anyway?" he wanted to know. "We were talking about how well you did out there...or we were supposed to be...can't you just let me pay you a compliment for once?"

"No," she answered with a slight smile.

"Still as good at taking praise as ever then I see," he groused good naturedly.

She grinned then. "About as good as you are I guess."

"Yeah well..."

He moved so that she lay across his chest and smiled at her as she lay her chin on his breastbone looking up at him, he reached out smoothing a strand of hair from her face. "Well can we at least agree that we both did good on this mission?"

She smiled. "We can."

"But you just looked a hell of a lot hotter doing it than I did..."

She laughed and sat up slightly, running a hand slowly over his tanned chest. "Oh I don't know about that," she murmured.

He grabbed up her hand and brought it to his lips. "I love you Sam," he whispered.

She ran her thumb across his bottom lip and let out a sigh at how sexy that made him look. "I love you too Jack," she replied finally. His eyes moved to hers and her breathing stopped altogether. _How can one man be so damned..._she didn't even have the right words...

"Will it be enough?" he asked.

She didn't have to ask him what he meant. She knew exactly what he was talking about. They were embarking on something that was dangerous, illegal, was bound to be volatile and, she couldn't help thinking, a major fucking turn on...but she loved him, she believed in him, and if it ever got to be too much...well, he meant more to her than a wormhole ever could. But they were thoughts for another time...maybe...

She smoothed her hand slowly across his cheek and he turned into the caress. "I think so," she replied honestly. "All we can do is try right?"

He smiled, her answer good enough for him. Her squeal as he flipped her onto her back making him grin. This was what he wanted to think about tonight. Everything else could wait until tomorrow.

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A/N

well that's it. I hope you enjoyed this story and the whole 'Heartbreaker' AU series. I'll miss writing this version of these two - they've been fun. But I guess they always are :-)

thanks to everyone that has read, reviewed and followed this story as well as the whole series. I appreciate your kind comments and valuable feedback and hopefully I can have something else worthy to read up soon :-)


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